Facebook in hot water Down Under

A Facebook representative will meet with an Australian police chief over concerns that Facebook users are a mob that incites hatred and undermines the criminal justice system.

Victoria Police Commissioner Ken Lay criticized Facebook’s response to certain cases, namely the outfit’s failure to quickly remove hate pages targeting a murder-rape suspect earlier this year. In October Lay described the people behind the page as a mob.

The suspect in the case, one Adrian Ernest Bayley, had six hate pages devoted to him. He is still in custody and he will appear in court next January.

It is understandable that the public turns to Facebook to vent their frustration, given the brutal nature of Bayley’s crime, but police are concerned that hate pages devoted to suspects in criminal investigations could affect the outcome of the case. In other words, mob-style hate pages could have the opposite effect, as they could help the suspects facing trial.

Law enforcement agencies have already expressed similar concerns about other hate pages.